Vehicle wheel



May 16, 1939.

H. J. HORN ET AL 5 VEHICL-E WHEEL Filed July 25, 1935 f7; 5 INVENTOR. #465 J HOE/V BY 679445455 E 5700677 ATTORNEY.

Patented May 16, 1939 VEHICLE WHEEL Harry J. Horn andCharles R. Stough Lansing, Mich., assigno'rs'to M'otor Wheel Corporation, Lansing, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application July 25, 1935, Serial No. 33,08'7

4 Claims.-

This invention relates to vehicle wheels and the combination therewith of ornamental covers therefor. More specifically, the invention relates to novel means for attaching an ornamental cover 5 to a vehicle wheel.

Two embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a partial sectional view of a wheel having a cover attached thereto;

Figure 2 is a partial front view of the wheel shown in Figure 1 with the cover removed;

Figure 3 is a partial sectional view of the cover shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a partial front view of the cover shown inFigure 3;

Figure 5 is a partial sectional view of a wheel having a cover attached thereto by a modified form of attachment;

Figure 6 is a partial sectional view of the cover shown in Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is a partial front viewof the cover shown in Figure 6.

The wheel shown in Figure 1 includes a hub l having a hub flange l l, brake drum i2, a wheel body IS, a drop center rim 14', a cover l anda hub cap IS. The brake drum l2 and wheel body ii are attached to the flange l l of hub by the cap screws I l. The rim I4 is attached to the peripheral flange 13a of wheel body l3 by rivets I 8 The flanged portion l3a of wheel body l3 constitutes a seat for the base-of rim I l. In the preferred embodiment this flange is provided with axially extending depressed portions ii! at circumferentially spaced intervals (see Figure 2). The flange l3a is preferably provided with four of these depressions l9, equally spaced about its circumference. Thus when rim I4 is mounted on the flange l3a, the depressions provide axially extending openings between the rim and its seat. These openings are adapted to receive integral attaching projections carried by the cover l5.

As best shown in Figures 3 and 4 the cover I5 is provided at its periphery with four equally spaced axially extending integral attaching projections 20. The free extremities of projections 20 are formed with fingers II which may be bent over to secure the cover to the wheel as will now be described.

Cover I 5 is attached to the wheel by inserting projections 20 into openings IS. The fingers 2| extend beyond the inner ends of openings i9. To lock the cover in position on the wheel these fingers are bent over the edge of rim seat l3a as clearly shown in Figure 1. In this manner the cover I5 is rigidlyconnected to the wheel.

' At its center the cover is provided with a large opening through which access may be had to cap screws I! for mounting and demounting the wheel and cover as a unit. Hub cap i6 is detachably connected to cover l5 whereby to close this opening by the conventional spring attaching elements 22.

The construction just described is the preferred embodiment of the invention. A modified form is illustrated in Figures 5, 6 and 7.

In the modified embodiment the wheel proper is identical to that shown in Figure 1 except for the omission of the depressions l9. However, the cover 23 of Figures 5, 6 and 7 differs substantially from that of Figures 1 to 4. Cover 23 is adapted to be attached to one edge of rim l4. Forthat purpose a plurality of integral projections 24 are formed at the periphery of cover 23. The con tour of cover 23 is such that projections 24 may be bent over the edge of rim H as shown in Figure 5. The cover is formed with a suiilcient number of these projections, preferably arranged in spaced groups, to rigidly connect the cover to the wheel.- As in the case of cover l5, cover 23 is provided with a large central opening adapted to receive a hub cap I6. I

Perhaps the most important advantage of the present invention is that it provides means for attaching an ornamental cover to a wheel after the wheel has been fabricated without requiring the disassembly of the wheel. By this means the cover may be said to be semi-permanently attached to the wheel. That is to say, the cover is rigidly connected to the wheel but may be 'removed without disassembling the wheel merely by bending the attaching flanges back to their original position and then pressing the cover axially away from the wheel. This permits the replacement of a cover in case it is damaged without necessitating the replacement of the entire wheel.

The present invention as defined in the appended claims is not limited to the illustrative embodiments shown and. described but may be incorporated in other modifications which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the wheel art.

We claim:

l. A vehicle wheel including, in combination, a wheel body having a plurality of spaced rim seat portions at its periphery, a rim mounted upon said seat portions, the wheel body being deformed intermediate said seat portions to form wheel body having an axially extending annular elongated narrow openings between said wheel body and said rim, and a cover plate having a plurality of substantially flat, axially extending integral projections extending from the periphery thereof into said openings to secure the cover plate to the wheel.

2. A vehicle wheel including, in combination, a wheel body having an axially extending annular flange at its periphery, a rim mounted upon's'aid flange, said flange being deformed at spaced points to provide elongated narrow openings between the wheel body and rim, and a cover plate having a. plurality oi substantially flat, integral projections extending axially from the periphery thereof through said openings, said projections being deformed to secure the cover plate to the wheel.

3. A vehicle wheel including, in combination, a

flange at its periphery, a rim mounted upon said flange, said flange being deformed at spaced intervals to provide openings between the wheel body and the rim, the circumferential extent of said openings being substantially greater than the radial extent thereof, and a cover plate having a plurality of spaced axially extending projections at its periphery, the periphery of the cover having a diameter substantially equal to the diameter at the periphery of the wheel body. the integral projections at the periphery of the cover extending through the openings between the rim and the wheel body and having their free ends deformed to secure the cover to the wheel.

4. A vehicle wheel including, in combination. a wheel body having a plurality of spaced rim seat portions at its periphery, a rim mounted with and extending axially from the cover plate into said openings to secure the cover plate to 2:)

the wheel.

HARRY J. HORN. CHARLES R. STOUGH. 

